Chris Colbert has a plan to become a world champion, by moving down in weight to 130lbs.
The Brooklyn native, 28, is scheduled to fight on ProBox TV for the first time, against the 24-year-old Omar Salcido Gamez of Mexico, in a lightweight contest 10 months after suffering a sixth-round knockout loss to Jose Valenzuela. The defeat by Valenzuela came in the rematch that followed him previously winning a unanimous decision over 10 rounds.
Colbert came close to fighting for the WBA junior-lightweight title against the then-champion Roger Gutierrez in February 2022, but the titleholder pulled out two weeks before fight night because of a positive test for COVID-19. Gutierrez was replaced by the underdog Hector Luis Garcia in what became a WBA 130lbs title eliminator.
In an upset, Garcia dominated the favorite Colbert, and won a 12-round unanimous decision via scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109.
Ahead of the fight with Gamez (19-1, 13 KOs), Colbert 17-2, (6 KOs) says he’s ready to prove his worth on his return to the ring.
“I was supposed to have been a world champion if I could afford the guy I was supposed to fight and then take a last-minute replacement, but it’s life,” Colbert told BoxingScene.
“Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes in life, they say when you want something, God might not give it to you because you might not know how to handle it when he gives it to you. He’s gonna give it to you when he’s ready and this is just a part of it.
“I’m not complaining. I’m going down in weight to 130 to challenge for honors there.”
Colbert has spent most of his professional career at junior lightweight. His only lightweight outing came in the two fights with Jose Valenzuela. On October 9 he’s billed to face Gamez at 135, but Colbert believes the 130lbs division remains his surest bet at realizing his world-title dream.
“I’ve been off the ring for too long and I can’t jump back down just a bit to 130,” he said. “I will be fighting at 135 on October 9 but will surely move down.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.